


What Are Friends For?

by InkWitch (serkestic)



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 13:26:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2152410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serkestic/pseuds/InkWitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Rin-chan is the world’s most cliché overprotective big brother,” Nagisa sings, even as Gou's eyes narrowed and Rei gulped down his chuckle. “Someone better warn him before he gets a little-sister complex.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Are Friends For?

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this a while ago. It was technically supposed to be a scene of something else, but I decided it was too misplaced and slightly too OOC to fit. Still wanted to post it though! The world can't get enough of The Wild Side, as it is.

Whenever a Samezuka-Iwatobi joint practice is held at the Iwatobi pool, the news manages to travel around the school like wild-fire, no matter how meticulously the entire club tried to keep it under wraps. The first few times were embarrassing as hell and Makoto had a difficult time not straight out blushing when he greeted his fellow captain and welcomed the swimmers to their school with hundreds of avid female gazes trained on them. They had even discussed that maybe all joint practices could be held at the Samezuka campus to avoid this entirely inappropriate ‘welcome’; but Seijuuro had voted against it, declaring loudly that it was no big deal. (They clearly loved the attention.) By now though, they’d gotten used to it.

Rei shifts from one foot to the other as he watches the Samezuka students pile out of their bus, studiously looking nonchalant. Their captain leads them as usual, sharp and direct, but one can’t ignore the bright, cocky grin on his face. The swimmers stretch, some crack their knuckles, as if they’d been journeying for _hours_ rather than the thirty minutes between the two schools. All for show, and very well done, if the barely muffled sighs of appreciation behind them are anything to go by. Rei rolls his eyes as Nagisa laughs and nudges Gou beside him: their friend looks the other way with resolution as her brother finally comes out of the bus, followed by his faithful roommate. Neither he nor Nagisa miss the way the corners of her mouth tightens as a few of the onlookers squeal and call out Rin’s name, the boy responding by looking over with a wink and a smirk. Rei and Nagisa exchange amused looks.

“Onii-chan,” Gou grounds out as they make their way to the clubroom, leaving Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai to bring the Samezuka students along, “is such a stupid _show_ off. Pft, anyone would think he’s the apple of Samezuka’s eye, the way he _preens_.” She gestures wildly and then drops her hands sharply. “That’s far from true.”

“He _is_ one of their best swimmers though, Gou-san,” Rei says. “He’s one of the only Samezuka swimmers who can swim all styles and have good times in all of them.”

Gou rolls her eyes. “Like any one of those girls care about that. They only fawn over him because of his whole thing with Haruka-senpai.”

“Also he’s super hot,” Nagisa adds. He yelps and scoots away from Gou’s answering smack. “Jeez, just because you’re not self-aware enough to know that your brother’s hot, doesn’t mean you get to be _violent_ , Gou-chan.”

“It’s Kou!!”

Nagisa dodges Gou’s swift uppercut with practiced ease and resumes his pace beside her as she sighs. “Grr, it’s not even _that_. Everyone already knew that Onii-chan was a big attention whore. But he doesn’t get to be that cocky jerk, flaunting like a peacock for all of my friends, when I’m not even allowed to talk to his _captain_ without him breathing down his neck or my neck. I’m the freaking _manager_ of Iwatobi, he has no right to be so restrictive!”

“Rin-chan is the world’s most cliché overprotective big brother,” Nagisa says. “Someone better warn him before he gets a little-sister complex.”

“Ew, Nagisa, don’t _even_.”

“That is indeed really inappropriate, Nagisa-kun.”

They enter the club room, Gou and Rei glaring in disapproval at their friend while Nagisa’s laugh leads the way. “Okay, okay. Tell me what he did this time though. Did he interrupt your talk with Captain Mikoshiba when you were arranging today’s meet?”

“Yeah,” Gou glowers. “Not only that, but Onii-chan was super rude. I could hear him over the phone, yelling at Mikoshiba-kun and accusing him of sleazing over me, it was so _embarrassing_. Then, when Mikoshiba-kun informed him that we were only discussing the meet, he actually had the audacity to tell Mikoshiba-kun that he’d never meet up with me!” She vibrates in anger, her scowl so fierce that Rei pales, even though it isn’t directed at him.

“What, like, a date?” Nagisa asks curiously.

“Yeah!”

“Did Mikoshiba-buchou ask you out then?”

“Ye-what, no,” Gou stutters, turning her scowl onto Nagisa. “No, I was talking about Onii-chan!”

“Yeah, but _I_ was talking about the Samezuka buchou.”

“Nagisa-kun, that is seriously none of your business,” Rei cuts in quickly as Gou blushes.

“What?” he exclaims in indignation. “Aren’t I Gou-chan’s friend? Friends tell friends about these sorts of things!”

“Yes but–”

“Ne, Gou-chan?” he says excitedly. “Tell me!! He asked you out, didn’t he?”

“Shhh, shh,” Gou whispers, throwing a glance to the open club door in desperation. “Okay, yes, he did, but can you _keep your voice down_? I said no, anyways.”

“How come?” Rei asks. Then stops short when the other two turn to look at him. He blushes in tandem with Gou, stuttering out, “I-I was. Sorry. Never mind, ignore me.”

Gou looks away, her cheeks tinted pink. “Because it would be a conflict of interest,” she replies, still looking the other way. “He’s the Samezuka captain, I’m the Iwatobi manager; it would interfere. I told him, maybe,” she turns a deeper shade of magenta, “maybe after he graduates, we could. If he was still interested. But for now, I couldn’t.”

In the silence that follows, they hear the rumble of conversation preceding the approach of the two swim teams. Gou looks up, still slightly pink. Rei nods slowly. “That’s a very good reason.”

Nagisa smiles. “You better get out there, Gou-chan,” he tells her. “Do your thing. Rei-chan and I will go get ready now.”

“It’s _Kou_ , you demon,” she grinds out, but without any bite. Nagisa looks over at Rei as Gou exits the room to meet the others.

“How long before Rin-chan finds out, do you think?” he asks. “I bet, two weeks tops.”

Rei takes a moment to think. “One, I would say. Mikoshiba-kun is not very good at hiding his feelings.”

“Yeah, but Rin-chan has the observational skills of a tortoise.”

“Still one week.”

Nagisa grins. “You’re on.”


End file.
